1. What were you expectations for this course and where they met? My expectations for this course were, that this would a sort of basic art class. My expectations were met, and i enjoyed this class as it was a nice break from writing papers.
2. Now that you've been through this course, What is art? How would you define it now compared to your intial posting? Art is a way for one to express themselves or to bring joy to others through many different mediums, which i believe is what makes art unique, as no two are exactly the same.
3. Who was your favorite artist in your original posting and who is your favorite visual artist now? If there is a difference, why do you think so? If you have the same favorite artist, why do you think so? In my original posting my favorite artists were van Gogh and Monet, which still are among my most admired artists. However i do feel that this class has introduced me to some different mediums and many other different artists that i also find appealing such as Thomas Cole, who has drawn me in with his fascinating paintings that are so very realistic.


4. Now that you've completed this course, how do you feel about taking an online course? Is your answer the same as it was in your first posting? How is it the same or different? I have taking many online courses throughout college, therefore my opinion remains the same, i appreciate the flexibility it gives me to be able to get my courses, while still working a full time job, which makes it difficult to attend physical classes.

Self Portrait Blog

1. Why did you select the inspiration pieces? I selected these pieces because they caught my attention the most with the idea that i was thinking of for my piece.
2. Why did you select the media to create your self-portrait? I selected this media because i felt i could express myself more through a collage by using specific items or things that make up who i am.
3. What challenges did you face in creating your self-portrait and how did you overcome them? It was very time consuming to go through magazines and find things that make up who i am. So i made sure i had plenty of magazines to go through.
4. How does this piece represent you? This piece represents me because i used specific things that i think make up who i am. Such as cooking, singing, music, taking photos, and my use of eyes throughout my piece is my representation of how i learn in this world, by the things i see.
5. What elements and principles of art did you apply in this work? I made sure to use a lot of color in this piece, variety by including many different things that make up who i am. I used balance by placing the items to create symetry.
6. Did you enjoy working on this project? I did enjoy this project, it was interesting to go through a magazine and find things that make up myself, at first it was difficult but i actually was able to gather quite a few items.
7. What do you think of your final artwork? I think the final artwork turned out rather well, as i am a big fan of collages. Overall i feel that i have captured the majority of things that i think make up who i am.

Art Critique

1. Which projects did you review?  I reviewed three projects, "The Impact of color on Art", "Flowers in Bloom", and " A Worlds War"                                
2. Why did you select the Exhibit you critiqued? I seleceted the exhibit i critique because i thought it was very well put together, organized, and the variety of works used caught my attention.
3. What challenges did you face in writing the critique article and how did you overcome them? I always foung it hard to critique something of someone else's because i feel like they have put a lot of time and effort into it. I overcame this by focusing on the strong points of the project, and what i felt made it interesting.
4. How do you feel about critiquing your peers work? I personally do not like it, i find it difficult to pick apart someone else's work.
5. Would you like to read the critique your peers wrote about your Art Curation Project? Yes i would, just to see what people gained or didnt gain from my work.
6. On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate your finished article and why? I would give it a 7, only because as i stated above i find it difficult to create the work of others.
7. Did you enjoy working on this project? I enjoyed reviewing the different projects, but i did not enjoy the critque article.

The Beauty of Nature

While doing this project i wanted to choose a theme that interested me which is why i chose nature. I have always been fascinated by the simple beauty that nature has to offer in so many ways. When i was choosing my works to include, i chose those that caught my attention in some way. Whether is was the colors used, the way the artist had made the apinting look so real, or the lighting that just gave it that special touch. It was a little difficult to chose which ones i wanted to include because there were so many, insome many different medias. However, i noticed oil on canvas painting are the ones that happened to catch my attention the most from the works that i chose. Overall i enjoyed this project and exploring the different works done by different artists.

Video Reflections

Artists and gallery curators explain how the term Lowbrow originated. Artist Robert Williams says he invented the term but doesn't care for its meaning. Some believe Lowbrow Surrealism is a more fitting term while others embrace Lowbrow. Pop culture, car culture, and folk art have both had major influences in the genre. Lisa Petrruci says the art is more relatable than esoteric art. The time after World War II known as the "Atomic Age" is another important part of the genre. Art covers so many different things ranging from concept art to paintings. Artist Anthony Ausgang says it is the job of critics to categorize the art. Robert Williams is  he original Lowbrow artist. A Robert Crumb inspired rock poster artists to start doing underground comics. At a time when galleries were not willing to display Lowbrow, the Laguna Art Museum put on a show featuring Ed Roth, Von Dutch, and Robert Williams. The tiki theme was prevalent in the 1950s and 1960s across the U.S. Lowbrow artists drew upon this imagery and incorporated it into their art. While conceptualism brought thought to art it excluded audience members who were not trained in art history. Artist Anthony Ausgang says, "Lowbrow blitzkriegs the idea that high culture requires a certain level of intelligence." Robert Williams thinks the established art world is set up to promote only certain types of art like minimalism and abstract. There is an unwillingness of the mainstream world to accept Lowbrow. These unaccepted artists created their own art scene after being shut out from museums and galleries.
The punk rock generation propelled Lowbrow art culture and artists were able to get their work to the masses in the form of album covers and fliers. The Pop Tarts opened the well received Tart Gallery in Vancouver . They gained more recognition and acceptance after being featured in a book about female Lowbrow artists. Curator Billy Shire is credited with promoting the Lowbrow art movement by opening the Shooting Gallery in San Francisco . Juxtapose magazine has made it possible for people worldwide to stay in tune with the Lowbrow art scene. Twenty years ago Robert Williams couldn't get anyone to show his art work and now he is in demand all over the world. Over the last ten years Lowbrow has gained more recognition and acceptance. Its influences include comic books, B-movies, rock ’n’ roll, surfing, hot rods, and Cold War imagery. Art historians call it Pop Surrealism; practitioners call it Lowbrow. With dozens of artist and gallery curator interviews, along with hundreds of examples, this program chronicles Lowbrow’s evolution, its iconoclasm and often antagonistic relation to abstract expressionism, as well as the rise of female artists to its forefront.


Modern art in the MOMA from 1929 onwards was displayed primarily in chronological order, representing each art movement. Art is displayed on white walls with flexible lighting.
By the 1970s, traditional ways of displaying modern art are questioned. And art came off the walls to become busy and noisy. The Tate Modern displays its modern art if four sections. In each section an overarching principle provides a theme for the selection and exhibition of the selections of modern art. The Tate's thematic approach to displaying art prompts controversy when three works by Richard Long are juxtaposed with Monet's "Water Lilies." Yet, the connections among the pieces are justified. Unlike MOMA's original concept of displaying art in chronological order, visitors to the Tate are provided with striking and often abrupt transitions between the individual display rooms. Critics argue that Tate Modern's thematic presentation of art requires that viewers have no knowledge of art. And they believe art should be more than entertainment. Many abstract artists tried to make paintings that were not dependent on figuration; they wanted to convey emotions, aesthetic effects, or social vision. The Joseph Beuys room in the Tate Modern creates a church-like atmosphere. Visitors do not materially understand what they see. They transition to the next room where art consists of waste and junk.

Native Americans' bones were collected as a scientific curiosity during the U.S. genocide against Indians. Anthropologists differ on whether or not the remains should be returned to their ancestors.
David Van Horn, a field archaeologist, is charged with criminal possession of Native human bone fragments. He avoids jail but loses his livelihood as a result of his prosecution. Europeans encounter, seemingly strange, Native Americans and remove them from their own land. Burial mounds are thought to be too civilized to have been built by Native American. In the 19th Century Samuel Morton M.D. studies brain size and concludes that the size of one's cranium is related to intelligence.  Sun Harjo, a Cheyenne and Muscogee, leads the fight for Native people's objects of worship to be returned.. Dr. Barnes, a physical anthropologist, is prevented from doing her research of Native American migration because of the new law. Bronco Lebeau, a Lakota Sioux, rejects theories of evolution and migration held by the dominate U.S. Repatriation requires that scientists first determine the bones tribal affiliation. Skull measurement helps to identify where the bones should be returned. Native Americans have ceremonies to discover whether the bones are their ancestors or not and their past is conveyed through an oral tradition. Native Americans do not want the scientists' history. Scientists learn a lot about today's health problems by studying the remains of human beings from the past and can benefit future knowledge by studying the past. Bruce Rothschild, an arthritis researcher, theorizes that arthritis is a new disease whose trigger may come from the Tennessee River region. Change in diet and lifestyle is related to high rates of diabetes. Omaha women, die earlier due to small pox and a change in their daily life. Their bones reveal that hard work by manufacturing furs worn them down and led to a lower birthrate and life expectancy.  British researchers run DNA tests on bones infected with T.B. They claim research benefits understanding how men change from the ancient to the modern but Native Americans are still skeptical.  Maria Pearson continues to represent the right to an undisturbed Indian burial ground. The holy areas are avoided by construction crews and archeologists do not excavate graves. Native Americans, in the early 20th century, are stripped of their tribal identity at U.S. boarding schools. Dr Reinhardt restores pride by sharing his research with today's Native Americans. Native Americans now design the exhibits in New York 's Native American Museum.

By creating the first affordable, user-friendly camera George Eastman became the father of popular photography. The museum established at his home celebrates the contributions he and the company he founded have made to advance the art, science, and phenomenon of photography. The photography collection at George Eastman House is a visual history of photography that represents the work of 14,000 amateur and professional photographers. The collection includes all types of photographs, famous and obscure, from documentary to fine art. The technology collection at George Eastman House contains about 16,000 objects, including about 5,000 cameras. The Eastman House holds the largest Daguerreotype collection outside of France . George Eastman worked to make photography accessible to everyone; he created the first affordable, user-friendly camera and founded the Eastman Kodak Company. Eastman's "Brownie" camera revolutionized photography and the motion picture film stock he invented with Thomas Edison became the industry standard. The 50 room colonial revival estate George Eastman began building in 1902 serves as the centerpiece for the museum that bears his name. In addition to photography-related artifacts the museum houses many of Eastman's personal possessions. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences made George Eastman a lifetime member to honor his contributions to the film industry's development. Today the George Eastman House is one of the world's premiere motion pictures archives. In 1996 the George Eastman House established the first school in North America to teach the restoration, preservation, and archiving of motion pictures. George Eastman's world revolved around his work and around philanthropy. The George Eastman House offers a variety of means to access collections, including 140,000 online images that celebrate the art, technology, and impact of photography and motion pictures. Located on the estate of the man who made Kodak a household word, the George Eastman House celebrates the art, technology, and impact of photography and motion pictures. Eastman's colonial revival mansion in Rochester , New York is now the oldest photography museum in the world-to showcase its famous collections. The Eastman House is a vital stop on the journey to understanding visual literacy.

Video Reflections 2

The Impact of Cubism:

Influenced by the works of Cézanne, African tribal art, and the art of the Iberian peninsula, Cubism—the most influential style of the early 20th century—offered European artists unfamiliar, nonclassical ways to represent form and space. Gris reveals his independence using spiritual elements and the imagination. He starts with abstraction and ends with the real object in exciting contrasts and interesting juxtapositions. Gris expands his artistic ambition by using the techniques of musical composition to layer elements of sound. He also incorporates collage as a tribute to the austerity of the Spanish tradition. In Duchamp's best known theme, controlled motion is balanced in a fixed setting, which is compared to stop photography. Robert Delaunay combines several points of view, nontraditional laws of perspective, elements of time and memory to reveal the Eiffel Tower as a confused, exciting statement about life. Delaunay explores the inner laws of light and color in an abstract approach. In "circular forms" he uses color as the subject of the painting to guide the spectator's perception of the picture as a whole. Malevich searches for mystical experiences represented in religious icons to order to find the essence of abstraction. "White Cross" is the purest representation of forces, emotions and imagination. Boccioni is inspired by the cinema screen to paint a fractured vision of modern city life synthesized in many moods.

Matisse and Picasso:
By the time both had become renown, Picasso and Matisse had broken with tradition with the establishment. Gertrude Stein is the first to recognize the greatness of Matisse (1905) and Picasso. Matisse is deliberate, rational, and very French in the way he organized his thoughts. Picasso is a worker, impulsive, and immerses himself in his painting. In 1912, Picasso invents the first collage, and is at the forefront of cubism. Paris was the city of inspiration for Matisse. In 1917, he finds the light he wants to paint by in Nice, France. This was an act of cutting loose and leaving everything behind. In Paris in the early 1920s, Picasso's life is turned upside down.
Matisse arrives in New York in 1930. America welcomes him like a star and gives him the Carnegie Prize, the Nobel of the art world. He then crosses the Pacific, seeking the Golden Age of Gauguin. He stays in Tahiti for 3 months. Unlike Matisse, Picasso did not travel, but worked in solitude in his studio. He works at night when he is "as close as possible to the unconscious." He uses neither pallet nor easel and Matisse works by the clock on a regular schedule. Unlike Matisse, three-fourth of the content of Picasso's paintings do not exist outside the paintings. His inspiration comes from life--women are the engine that drives him. Matisse, too, is a painter of the women who model for him. In the 1920s, Picasso's dialog with Matisse becomes more intimate. Picasso seizes on Matisse's arabesque, and incorporates roundness and color as never before in his paintings. In the mid-1930s, a Nordic beauty arrives in Matisse's studio--another "sleeping woman" to awaken an artist's inspiration. One of Matisse's habits was to paint during the day and then, in the evening, and then rub out what he had done. Unlike Matisse, who rubbed out his work every day, Picasso painted over the day's work, until a final painting may have a dozen or more layers. Picasso uses lines borrowed from Matisse, and later, Matisse borrows subjects, color, or lines from Picasso. During the Occupation of Paris during WWII, both Matisse and Picasso stay in the city. Darkness and evil can be found in Picasso's paintings of this period. No such violence exists in Matisse, and Picasso buys one of his paintings. In 1948, both Matisse and Picasso move to the south of France. A living legend, Picasso is offered the Grimaldi Palace to live in and Matisse lives in a villa in Provence. Picasso fathers two children at age 70 with Françoise. Picasso explores a new medium--ceramics. He and his family visit the Matisse household in Nice where Matisse is unable to paint, but creates collages instead. Picasso and Matisse had long discussions about the mystery of opposites and choices. Matisse's high regard for Picasso's work was evident in his reaction to "Winter Landscape." He kept it at the foot of his bed, unwilling to let Picasso have it back. Matisse dies in 1954 and Picasso then moves to Cannes.

Video Reflections

Andy Warhol:
Andy Warhol worked as a commercial artist until 1960 when he began experimenting with advertising images. He worked until his untimely death in 1987. Andy Warhol's interest in the lives of these famous women inspired several repeated images. Photographs are blown up and developed onto silk screens; they are transferred to paper and canvas, using ink and paint. Andy Warhol saw the repeated silk screen images as a way to make money. Warhol begins to photograph his friends; soon he is filming them also, shooting about 100 films. He begins adding paint to his silk screened images. Warhol produced dozens of self-portraits. As an art journalist his work addresses race riots, the conquest of the moon, the Cultural Revolution in China, and the universal reign of the dollar.
Art Expressionism:

By using Franz Kline's painting "C&O," abstract art is compared to figurative art. The filled space of the canvas is distinctively different in these two styles. Kline initially injects his work with mood and expression but moves towards painting colors in undefined space thus sparking the imagination with a sensual impact. Klines uses shapes that evoke emotions. Kline's use of action painting reveals a process of constant discovery and leads us into a world of color and form. "Mountains and Sea" causes her to emerge on the artistic scene and influences a generation of artists. There is a fundamental change in the way we look at a picture from her strength of vision. Frankenthaler's work is both feminine and mystical and induces a contemplative mood. An observer experiences a warming and exhilarating sense of fruitfulness in her work. "Morning: The Springs" expresses movement as an echo of sensations and is evocative of plant forms, light, and falling water. It is a momentary gift of light with a calligraphic quality. In 1952 De Koonig makes his name with "Woman One." By embracing a passionate and instinctive approach to painting, he becomes an instant talisman of "action painting." John's paintings undermine our assumptions and make us think. He seeks to make his common subjects visually seductive and to deceive our senses as a coherent system of information. By using blobs, drips and layers, pattern dominates Johns' work. The observer takes in the layers and yet sees the whole and moves from an impersonal to personal experience of his paintings. In the 1960s Andy Warhol is pop art's most famous son. This is never a very clear movement but is the first 20th Century art movement since Futurism to embrace the rhythms of city life. Both Warhol and Rauschenber become art icons of the 60s by paving the way for pop artists in their use of everyday objects. "Girl With Hair Ribbon" juggles the notions of representation and abstraction. The closer one looks the less the image is apparent and the details take on a life of their own. Lichtenstein treats style as something to be chosen according to the job, but he also concentrates on themes that stir emotions and passions